(Rev 11:1-14 KJV) And there was
given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel
stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of
God, and the altar, and them that worship
therein. {2} But the court which is without
the temple leave out, and measure it not; for
it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy
city shall they tread under foot forty and two
months. {3} And I will give power unto my two
witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand
two hundred and threescore days, clothed in
sackcloth. {4} These are the two olive trees,
and the two candlesticks standing before the
God of the earth. {5} And if any man will hurt
them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and
devoureth their enemies: and if any man will
hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
{6} These have power to shut heaven, that it
rain not in the days of their prophecy: and
have power over waters to turn them to blood,
and to smite the earth with all plagues, as
often as they will. {7} And when they shall
have finished their testimony, the beast that
ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make
war against them, and shall overcome them, and
kill them. {8} And their dead bodies shall lie
in the street of the great city, which
spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where
also our Lord was crucified. {9} And they of
the people and kindreds and tongues and
nations shall see their dead bodies three days
and an half, and shall not suffer their dead
bodies to be put in graves. {10} And they that
dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them,
and make merry, and shall send gifts one to
another; because these two prophets tormented
them that dwelt on the earth. {11} And after
three days and an half the Spirit of life from
God entered into them, and they stood upon
their feet; and great fear fell upon them
which saw them. {12} And they heard a great
voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up
hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a
cloud; and their enemies beheld them. {13} And
the same hour was there a great earthquake,
and the tenth part of the city fell, and in
the earthquake were slain of men seven
thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and
gave glory to the God of heaven. {14} The
second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe
cometh quickly. 1. And there was given me a reed like
unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise,
and measure the temple of God, and the altar,
and them that worship therein. a. John is
representative of the "eagle saints" who were
taken out at the beginning of the seven year
tribulation period (Rev. 4:1). He could
also represent overcomers in the remaining
Church who are taken out in the middle of the
tribulation period before the seventh seal is
opened. b. "The Angel"
is still Jesus Christ, the One who placed one
foot on the sea and one foot on the land.
Jesus Christ is in the process of taking
possession of the earth, and John is to
participate in this takeover of the earth.
John is representative of those who inherit the
earth. c. The
representative aspect of John's character occurs
every time he is removed from being a mere
spectator, and he becomes an actor in the
unfolding events. The literal switches to
the figurative when John becomes an active
participant in the unfolding events. For
example, Rev. 4:1 places John as a
representative of the Philadelphia church, the
five wise virgins, the faithful and wise
servant, the one taken, etc. He is thus
representative of the overcoming Church, and
this would include those who are overcomers when
they go through the "hour of temptation." d. Measuring
something is symbolic of taking possession of
whatever is measured. When someone
measures something, it means that it is now the
property of the person doing the
measuring. Jesus Christ commissions John
to participate in the measuring since the
overcoming church will share in the inheritance
that Jesus Christ has received. e. It is highly
significant that John is given "a reed like unto
a rod" to do the measuring. The rod is for
chastisement purposes so that which is being
measured is about to come under severe
chastisement by the Lord Almighty. A
golden reed will be used to measure the New
Jerusalem (Rev. 21:15), and gold is the metal
symbolizing deity. f. It is the
temple of God, the altar, and the worshippers
that are being measured. This is
distinctly Jewish so this is clearly the "time
of Jacob's trouble," and it encompasses the last
half of the tribulation period. The end of
the next verse even gives the time frame as 42
months. g. Antichrist
will be given free rein over the earth during
the first half of the tribulation period, but
Jesus Christ will claim possession of the Jewish
remnant who are to be saved at the return of
Jesus Christ in power and glory. 2. But the court which is without the
temple leave out, and measure it not; for it
is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city
shall they tread under foot forty and two
months.a. The outer
court of the Jerusalem temple was called the
Court of the Gentiles. Even though elect
Jews will be protected by the Lord during this
last half of the tribulation period, Jesus will
allow the city of Jerusalem to be tread under
foot by the Gentile nations for 42 months.
The purpose is for the chastisement of the
nation of Israel to cause them to turn to Jesus
Christ as their Messiah. It is at the very
end of the tribulation period that Jesus will
return in power and glory and judge the Gentiles
for the way that they treated the Jews.
This judgment is called the sheep and goat
judgment. b. It is during
the first half of the tribulation period that
the 144,000 Jews will be saved as the
Firstfruits of the Jews. It is also during
this period that millions of Gentiles will be
saved. It is when the fullness of the
Gentiles has come in that the blindness of
Israel will be lifted and Israel will begin to
see spiritual truths that they have been unable
to see up until that time. c. The fullness
of the Church takes place at the separation
between the faithful and the unfaithful, but the
fullness of the Gentiles does not occur until
the middle of the tribulation period when the
time of Jacob's trouble begins. The Jews
will still be blinded during the first half of
the tribulation, since they will believe that
Antichrist is their Messiah during this time.
d. The Jewish
remnant will be the last to be saved. The
prophet Jeremiah wept over this fact in the
following verse: (Jer 8:20 KJV) The harvest is
past, the summer is ended, and we are not
saved. e. The prophet
Zechariah describes the trampling down of the
city of Jerusalem and the salvation of the
nation of Israel: (Zec 13:9 KJV) And I will bring
the third part through the fire, and will
refine them as silver is refined, and will try
them as gold is tried: they shall call on my
name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is
my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my
God. (Zec 14:1-2 KJV) Behold, the day
of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be
divided in the midst of thee. {2} For I will
gather all nations against Jerusalem to
battle; and the city shall be taken, and the
houses rifled, and the women ravished; and
half of the city shall go forth into
captivity, and the residue of the people shall
not be cut off from the city. f. The Day of
the Lord occurs during the last half of the
tribulation period. Even though the
Gentiles are saved during the first half of the
tribulation period, they will be judged for
their works during the entire tribulation period
after they are saved. Their judgment is a
works judgment and it will depend upon their
treatment of the Jews during the tribulation
period (Rev. 25:31-46). 3. And I will give power unto my two
witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand
two hundred and threescore days, clothed in
sackcloth. a. These two
witnesses are not given to John in vision, but
the Glorious Angel, the Lord Jesus Christ,
describes them to him. The phrase "my two
witnesses" is further confirmation that this
Angel is the Lord Jesus Christ. b. These
witnesses prophesy (i.e., they are the
mouthpiece of God) for 1260 days. This is
during the same time that the Gentiles trample
down the city of Jerusalem. There are two
because both the law and the gospel calls for
two witnesses to establish important truth (Deut
17:6; Matt. 18:16). c. Now as
saints from heaven are doing the measuring, it
is appropriate that two other notable saints
from heaven would be doing the
prophesying. There is no mention that
those doing the measuring are known or visible
to the people on the earth, but the two
witnesses prophesy and preach, and they are the
objects of persecution, affliction and
death. This difference is not only one of
office and sphere, but there is also a
difference in their physical being. They
are capable of death, so they are in their
earthly bodies of flesh and blood. d. There are
two Old Testament saints who were taken directly
to heaven in their bodies of flesh and blood,
and both were prophets of judgment.
Therefore, both would be capable of death and
resurrection. They were, and are God's
pre-eminent. These two prophets are Enoch,
the seventh from Adam, and Elijah, the Tishbite.
e. Scripture
confirms that Elijah is one of the two
witnesses: (Mal 4:5-6 KJV) Behold, I will
send you Elijah the prophet before the coming
of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: {6}
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to
the children, and the heart of the children to
their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth
with a curse. f. Much of the
literature in the early Church confirms that
Enoch will be the other witness. The most
eminent teachers, bishops, apologists, and
martyrs taught from the time of the apostles
onward that Elijah and Enoch would be the two
witnesses described in this chapter. g. These two
witnesses are described as "My two witnesses,"
and the context of their being witnesses is in
the area of judgment. Of all men who ever
lived, Enoch and Elijah are the two greatest
judgment prophets. h. As far as is
known, Enoch never preached on any subject other
than "Judgment from above." (Jude 1:14-15 KJV) And Enoch
also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of
these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with
ten thousands of his saints, {15} To execute
judgment upon all, and to convince all that
are ungodly among them of all their ungodly
deeds which they have ungodly committed, and
of all their hard speeches which ungodly
sinners have spoken against him. i. Both Elijah
and Enoch had the spirit of judgment. They
will be dressed in sackcloth to demonstrate
their humility and obedience to the Lord Jesus
Christ. This also shows they are from
another dispensation other than the current
one. Sackcloth relates to other times and
another ritual outside of the Church Age.
Enoch and Elijah fit the description perfectly.
4.
These are the two olive trees, and the two
candlesticks standing before the God of the
earth. a. This verse
is a definite allusion to Zechariah's vision in
Zec. 4. There was a complex golden
lampstand with seven lamps on it that was fed
with oil from a bowl of oil. The lampstand
was a picture of the Church. Beside the
lampstand were two olive trees. They were
described as "the two anointed ones that stand
before the Lord of the whole earth." b. The two
olive trees represented Zerubbabel, the prince,
and Jeshua, the high priest, who restored
Jerusalem, the temple and the people to the
worship of God after the 70 year exile in
Babylon. c. Zerubbabel
and Jeshua were types of the two witnesses who
would perform the same functions during the last
half of the tribulation period. d. It is very
important to note that the two witnesses, in
addition to being two olive trees, are also the
two lamps standing before the God of the
earth. It is highly significant that the
seven-lamp lamp stand is not present. The
reason is that the entire Church as the light of
God on the earth has been removed from the earth
just prior to the coming of the two witnesses as
God's light to the world. This is further
confirmation that the Church will remain on the
earth as God's light to the world up until the
middle of the tribulation period. The two
witnesses will then take over as God's light.
e. The phrase
"Lord of the earth" is confirmation that Satan
has been displaced as the god of the world, and
Jesus Christ has now taken his rightful position
of authority, even though there are many
judgments remaining to purge the earth of the
influence of Satan and his cohorts. 5. And if any man will hurt them, fire
proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth
their enemies: and if any man will hurt them,
he must in this manner be killed. a. Clearly, the
Age of Grace is over and the time of judgment is
upon the world. Ministers of God are
present, but their spirit and methods are
entirely different from the ministers of the
gospel in the present dispensation. b. The two
witnesses kill, torment, deal out fiery
judgments upon their enemies, and avenge even
the desire to injure them. This is not
according to the Christian spirit, which is not
to avenge ourselves, not to render evil for
evil, not to smite and kill our enemies, but to
love them and do good to them. Jesus had
all power, but he did not exercise it after the
style of these two witnesses. Jesus said
He came to save lives and not to destroy them,
and His servants have acted in this spirit.
c. Stephen and
James were beheaded. Paul and Silas were
beaten and imprisoned. Peter was
crucified, and Polycarp was burned.
Antipas was put to death. None of these
servants of Jesus attempted to resist, or defend
himself by miracles, or to avenge the wrong
inflicted. It is clear that the two
witnesses are ministers of another order.
The two witnesses are arrayed in sackcloth, and
their very garments betoken calamity and
judgment. These are times of intense
supernaturalism. Satan is incarnate upon
the earth, and the demons of hell run rampant
upon the earth. 6. These have power to shut heaven,
that it rain not in the days of their
prophecy: and have power over waters to turn
them to blood, and to smite the earth with all
plagues, as often as they will. a. These two
witnesses are ministers of the judgments of God
against the people of the world. It does
not rain during their ministry, and they have
the power to turn the waters to blood that do
exist. The plagues are reminiscent of the
time of the plagues in Egypt. b. There is war
upon the earth between the two witnesses of God
and the Antichrist and his false prophet, who
perform miracles themselves. c. The time of
the ministry of these two witnesses is during
the Day of the Lord. It is the winding up
of the affairs of this present world system.
d. They witness
for Christ, not as the bleeding and pleading
Lamb of God, but as the avenger of his elect,
who is about to break his enemies with a rod of
iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter's
vessel. They are judgment prophets sent to
resist the blasphemies of the Antichrist.
They warn the world of coming destruction, and
they prepare the elect, God's earthly people,
for the coming kingdom. They breathe the
law spirit, and they execute the law penalties.
e. When Elijah
was on the earth the first time, he prayed and
it did not rain for three years and six months
(James 5:17-18). He will repeat this
during the last half of the tribulation period.
f. The coming
of Elijah is also for the purpose of the
restoration of fallen Israel. According to
Malachi 4:5,6 Elijah the prophet will come, "and
he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the
children, and the heart of the children to their
fathers." Jesus Christ also stated, "Elias
truly shall first come, and restore all things."
(Matt. 17:11)7.
And when they shall have finished their
testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of
the bottomless pit shall make war against
them, and shall overcome them, and kill
them.a. After the
two witnesses have completed their testimony,
the Antichrist will fight against them and slay
them. They were immortal until their work
was finished. God ordained this so that He
could demonstrate his power even over life and
death. b. The method
of their death is unknown, but it is known that
Antichrist will behead his victims. John
the Baptist came in the power and spirit of
Elijah, and he was beheaded, so it is likely
that the two witnesses will be beheaded. 8. And their dead bodies shall lie in
the street of the great city, which
spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where
also our Lord was crucified. a The bodies of
the two witnesses shall lie in the streets of
Jerusalem for 3 !/2 days. b. The word
spiritually is proof positive that this account
can be taken literally, and the only portion
that can be spiritualized or taken figuratively
is the description of Jerusalem as being like
Sodom and Egypt. Jerusalem is not
literally Sodom, but it is like Sodom in its
apostasy (See Isa. 1:9,10; 3:8,9; Deut.
32:30-33; Jer. 23:14). Jerusalem is also
like Egypt in its idolatries (See Ezek.
23:3,4,8,19). The Bible equates harlotry
with idolatry. c. This verse
positively identifies the city as Jerusalem by
the reference to the city where Jesus was
crucified. 9. And they of the people and kindreds
and tongues and nations shall see their dead
bodies three days and an half, and shall not
suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves.a. The world
shall witness the bodies lying in the streets of
Jerusalem for 3 1/2 days. This would have
been impossible before the days of television by
satellite and CNN Headline News. b. The
devilishness and malignity of feeling against
these two witnesses is demonstrated by the
refusal to even bury their bodies. The law
provides that even the worst of criminals shall
be awarded burial on the same day of their
execution (Deut. 21:22-23). In this case
all law and right feeling is set in defiance in
regard to these prophets of God. c. Note: The
joy over an enemy's death and refusal to bury
him have been the world's manner of expressing
enmity in all ages and countries. It was
true at the death of Phocion (Athenian general
and statesman), Cleomanas (king of Sparta),
Tiberius Gracchus (Roman statesman and reformer)
and others. At the death of John Huss
(religious reformer), who was burned at
Constance, the Council held banquets and
expressed their joy in the same manner as when
enemies are destroyed. 10. And they that dwell upon the earth
shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and
shall send gifts one to another; because these
two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the
earth. a. The people
of the world experience great joy over the death
of these two witnesses, because of the torment
that they inflicted upon them. b. Unbeknownst
to the people of the world, these torments were
but the earnests and the precursors of much
greater woes about to be released in the seventh
trumpet judgment, which opens up the bowl or
vial judgments. c. Duped by
Satan, the people consider themselves redeemed
from torment with the death of these two
witnesses. They dismiss further fear and
consider their trouble at an end. They
celebrate by sending presents to one another as
if this were some grand jubilee. 11. And after three days and a half the
Spirit of life from God entered into them, and
they stood upon their feet; and great fear
fell upon them which saw them. a. God
resurrects both witnesses into their glorified
bodies of flesh and bone in the sight of the
world. This will instill great fear into
the citizens of the world. 12.
And they heard a great voice from heaven
saying unto them, Come up hither. And they
ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their
enemies beheld them.a. The two
witnesses will hear the same words from the Lord
that the Philadelphia Church heard in chapter 3,
"Come up hither." It is clear that both
witnesses will receive their inheritance in the
kingdom of the heavens. b. The enemies
who rejoiced over their death will watch them
ascend into heaven. This will be an
extraordinary supernatural event to witness.
c. Both Enoch
and Elijah ascended into heaven in their bodies
of flesh and blood in like manner thousands of
years ago. Only this time the world will
witness this eventd. Those who
refused to believe in the death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ will be eyewitnesses to the
death and resurrection of the two witnesses.13. And the same hour was there a great
earthquake, and the tenth part of the city
fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men
seven thousand: and the remnant were
affrighted, and gave glory to the God of
heaven. a. There will
be a great earthquake in Jerusalem within the
same hour that the witnesses ascend into
heaven. A tenth of the city of Jerusalem
will be destroyed and 7000 people will die in
the earthquake. b. Those who
remain after the earthquake will be extremely
fearful for their lives, and they will
acknowledge God as the cause of these
supernatural events. This acknowledgment
does not necessarily mean repentance or
salvation. It simply means that they will
be forced to acknowledge that God's almighty
power is in the events that just took place.
14. The second woe is past; and,
behold, the third woe cometh quickly. a. The sixth
trumpet judgment is completed, and the seventh
trumpet judgment is about to commence. b. This is
proof positive that the seven bowl or vial
judgments will take place in a very short space
of time at the very end of the tribulation
period. This is true since the two
witnesses appear in the middle of the
tribulation period, and they witness for 3 1/2
years. This only leaves a few weeks or a
few months for the bowl judgments to be
completed. I. The Sounding of
the Seventh Trumpet (Rev. 11:15-19)(Rev 11:15-19 KJV) And the
seventh angel sounded; and there were great
voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this
world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and
of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and
ever. {16} And the four and twenty elders,
which sat before God on their seats, fell upon
their faces, and worshipped God, {17} Saying,
We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
which art, and wast, and art to come; because
thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and
hast reigned. {18} And the nations were angry,
and thy wrath is come, and the time of the
dead, that they should be judged, and that
thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants
the prophets, and to the saints, and them that
fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest
destroy them which destroy the earth. {19} And
the temple of God was opened in heaven, and
there was seen in his temple the ark of his
testament: and there were lightnings, and
voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake,
and great hail.The sounding of
the seventh trumpet does not occur in an instant
or moment of time, but it lasts for a period of
days, weeks or even months during which time the
seven bowls of God's judgments are unleashed
upon the earth. It is the seventh trumpet
that culminates in Christ's complete takeover of
the earth. There is a resurrection, and
there is the sheep and goat judgment of the
nations, along with the judgment of
Israel. The Antichrist and the False
Prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire, and
Satan is confined to the bottomless pit for the
millennium. 15.
And the seventh angel sounded; and there
were great voices in heaven, saying, The
kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and
he shall reign for ever and ever.a. The seventh
presence angel sounds the seventh trumpet, and
there is great rejoicing in heaven over the
kingdom of this world becoming the kingdom of
our Lord. The word kingdoms used two times
in this verse is correctly translated kingdom in
most translations. It is the kingdom of
the world that has now become under the
authority and control of Jesus Christ. The
clause "he shall reign forever and ever" is
literally translated he shall reign unto the
ages of ages. This confirms that his reign
does not end with the millennium. He will
not reign with a "rod of iron" after the
millennium, because sin and death will be
conquered, and it will not be necessary to rule
with an iron hand. Righteousness will
dwell upon the earth after the millennium, and
the strong arm of the Lord will not be necessary
in order to maintain order. b. In contrast
to earlier announcements where only one voice
spoke, the announcement of the kingdom belonging
to Jesus Christ was made by great or loud voices
in heaven. The significance of the event
is multiplied in the number of the voices.
16. And the four and twenty elders,
which sat before God on their seats, fell upon
their faces, and worshipped God, a. The 24
elders have appeared 7 times before in the book
of Revelation. They fall down twice in
chapter 5 to worship (Rev.5:8,14), but this time
they completely prostrate themselves with their
faces on the heavenly pavement. This also
emphasizes the significance of the event taking
place. 17.
Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God
Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to
come; because thou hast taken to thee thy
great power, and hast reigned.a. The 24
elders give thanks to the Lord for exerting his
power and reigning upon the earth. The
phrase "and art to come" is not in the best
manuscripts. The American Standard 1901,
New International Version, and several others
correctly leave this phrase out. Jesus
Christ has already come at the time this is
taking place, so the phrase is inappropriate.
b. The four
living creatures are conspicuously absent in
this chorus of praise and worship, and it causes
some to wonder where they are at this moment in
time. One possible solution is that the
four living creatures represent the Bride of
Christ, and the Bride is preparing herself for
her grand presentation. c. There are
other hints in Scripture that the Bride will not
return with Jesus Christ when He comes in power
and glory to deal with his brethren and the
nations (i.e., Gentiles). 18. And the nations were angry, and thy
wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that
they should be judged, and that thou shouldest
give reward unto thy servants the prophets,
and to the saints, and them that fear thy
name, small and great; and shouldest destroy
them which destroy the earth. a. The nations
(i.e., Gentiles) were angry (past tense), but
the wrath of the Lord is present (present
tense), and the time of judging the righteous
dead is now present. Please note that only
reward is mentioned in this context, since only
the elect Gentiles and elect Jews will be
resurrected at the end of the tribulation period
so they can receive their rewards. There
are three classes of believers who will receive
rewards at this time. "Thy servants the
prophets" are all those who are resurrected at
this time who have been witnesses for the
Lord. This would be the highest class of
the three. "The saints" would be all those
who separated themselves unto the Lord.
This is the second class. "Them that fear
thy name" represent the lowest class who did not
separate themselves from the world, but they did
fear the Lord. Of course, these three
groups of believers do not include any of the
Church. All members of the Church will
have already been judged at the Judgment Seat of
Christ. The unrighteous dead will not be
resurrected for judgment until the end of the
millennium. Theirs is the White Throne
Judgment.b. This is also
the time when those unsaved who are still alive
on the earth must be killed, since they cannot
enter into the earthly aspect of the
kingdom. The phrase "and shouldest destroy
them which destroy the earth" is referring to
these people. They will be subsequently
resurrected at the end of the millennium for the
white throne judgment. 19. And the temple of God was opened in
heaven, and there was seen in his temple the
ark of his testament: and there were
lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and
an earthquake, and great hail. a. Chapter 11
should have ended with verse 18. Verse 18
gives the last historical action of the
tribulation period in the judgment of those
resurrected at the end of the tribulation
period. This verse introduces a new series
of events, and it is actually the beginning of
the events described in Chapter 12. b. The
description of verse 19 picks up again in the
middle of the tribulation period and describes
the sequence of events pertaining to the nation
of Israel, the casting out of Satan out of the
first heaven, and the rapture of the main body
of the Church. c. The opening
of the temple of God takes us back to the middle
of the tribulation period described in chapter 8
of Revelation. The lightnings, voices,
thunderings, and earthquake are even a repeat of
Rev. 8:5 to show us that God is now going to
give us some more details of the last 3 1/2
years of the tribulation period by picking up
again at the point where The Seven Presence
Angels appear to pour out judgments on the earth
during the day of the Lord. The "great
hail" is a reference to the fire from the censer
that was cast down to the earth. This
verse is as follows: (Rev 8:5 KJV) And the angel took
the censer, and filled it with fire of the
altar, and cast it into the earth: and there
were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings,
and an earthquake. d. The
opening of the temple of God is also a cue that
God is about to deal with his people, the nation
of Israel, which also is the time of Jacob's
trouble. This is the last half of the
tribulation period when God allows Antichrist to
afflict his chosen people, the Jews. e. The
appearance of the Ark of the Covenant is also an
unmistakeable tipoff that God has gone back to
the middle of the tribulation period for the
express purpose of dealing with
Israel.